Powering Through Fatigue / Stress Management Tips

It’s not exactly a surprise that university life is BUSY. Between classes, assignments, work, trekking around campus, running/fitness and friends, sometimes most of the time it feels like I don’t even have space to breathe. Take yesterday, for example:

Work from 8am-10:30am

Class from 11am-1pm

Study from 1pm-3pm

Class from 4pm-6pm

And that doesn’t include writing the paper I have due, completing my computer science problem set, grocery shopping, blogging, or having ANY social interaction whatsoever. And it was a rest day!

I admit I started the day with a mini-breakdown. With my extremely long day (and a French quiz!) looming ahead, I felt hopelessly overwhelmed and like I wouldn’t be able to make it through the day. Obviously, though, I (somehow) did, and felt like I learned enough to tell you! So without further ado, these are my tips for making those unbearably long days bearable and keeping your sanity while at it.

1. Talk to someone you love. I have zero shame in admitting this – when I was suffering said mini-breakdown yesterday morning, the first thing I did was call my mom! Sometimes all you need is someone with an objective viewpoint to remind you that things are not actually as bad as they seem, and how capable you truly are! It always helps to take a step back and re-evaluate where you are in your day/week, and break things down into manageable chunks.

2. Focus on the present. Going off that last sentence – don’t think about the fact that it’s Monday and you have 14 hour days all. Week. Long. Instead, focus on whatever you are doing right NOW. So yesterday, I only thought about accomplishing work-related things from 8-10:30. I then only thought about taking notes, then French, etc. By working on making it through just one small block of time the day goes by MUCH faster and feels way easier to handle.

3. Prioritize. Just writing a MASSIVE to-do list isn’t going to increase anything but your stress levels. Instead, thing about the things that MUST happen on one particular day and write a list of those – it will most likely be far smaller and feel much more manageable! And after that, you can spread out the remaining items over a few days, feeling relaxed and confident about accomplishing them.

If only…

4. Treat yourself well. This is a healthy living blog, so there was no way I was going to forget this! Admittedly, I’ve been slacking on it a ton and I know it’s why I’ve been feeling so awful. Drinking tonnes of water, avoiding chemicals, eating nourishing foods along with sleeping well and exercising will increase your ability to handle stress tenfold. Like I said, I haven’t been doing my best – running is the only thing I’ve kept up with well while at college and I 100% credit it with whatever of my sanity is remaining.

5. Remember me time! It’s easy to GOGOGOGOGOGO nonstop – but that only leads to burnout and resentment. For me, that means taking time to journal and blog regularly, as well as allow myself to read blogs guilt-free. Do what works for you to feel relaxed and like yourself.

Now it’s time for the hard part – actually putting those words into practice!

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One thought on “Powering Through Fatigue / Stress Management Tips”

Super tips lady! Focusing in the NOW has helped me immensely in my ever-demanding job..that and letting go of perfection in every.single.detail. I could only freak out over files marked not to my liking so many times before having, oh..5.5 billion anxiety attacks. With Mum coming to the rescue of course 🙂 . Glad you’re managing yourself well; so important to make our health [mentally and physically] a priority in stressful times yes!